January 19, 2017
A Perk Case (& the Not-Quite-First Non-GAAP Enforcement Case!)
– Broc Romanek
Yesterday, the SEC sanctioned MDC Partners for violating Reg G & Item 10(e) of Reg S-K in connection with its use of non-GAAP financial measures. Some people are calling this the first non-GAAP enforcement case – but that’s not quite right. There aren’t many, but this isn’t the first non-GAAP case. In fact, this isn’t even the first non-GAAP case since the new CDIs!
Here’s an excerpt from the SEC’s order:
Despite agreeing to comply with non-GAAP financial measure disclosure rules in December 2012 correspondence with the Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, MDCA continued to violate those rules for six quarters by failing to afford equal or greater prominence to GAAP measures in earnings release presentations containing non-GAAP financial measures. Furthermore, for seven quarters between mid-2012 and early-2014, MDCA did not reconcile “organic revenue growth,” which as calculated by MDCA was a non-GAAP financial measure, to GAAP revenue.
In addition, the SEC announced that the company agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty to settle charges that it failed to disclose certain perks enjoyed by its then-CEO. In April 2015, the company disclosed that the SEC was investigating its CEO’s expenses & the company’s accounting practices.
The SEC’s order says that the company disclosed a $500k annual perk allowance for its CEO – but didn’t disclose millions of dollars in additional perks. These included private aircraft usage, club memberships, cosmetic surgery, yacht and sports car expenses, jewelry, charitable donations, pet care, & personal travel expenses. The CEO resigned in July 2015 and returned $11.3 million worth of perks, personal expense reimbursements, and other items of value improperly received over a 5-year period.